Human resources career goals include becoming a generalist or specialist, developing leadership skills, and understanding various HR functions. However, HR professionals may not earn as much as sales or manufacturing counterparts and may not travel extensively.
There are a number of human resources career goals that can meet the requirements of a variety of job seekers, from university-trained professionals with an eye on the executive suite to specialists who do one thing but do it very well. Human resource (HR) professionals often earn a respectable living and also achieve professional fulfillment. Those who work for small organizations are usually responsible for the entire HR function and are called generalists. In larger HR departments, some professionals have the opportunity to specialize in areas that are critical to the organization; in many growing companies, the first HR function to be performed by a specialist is payroll and benefits administration. Senior leadership teams at larger companies often include an executive charged solely with directing the HR function.
Most human resource professionals learn a wide variety of roles that are critical to the functioning of an organization. In addition to recruiting and hiring, HR professionals must have a working knowledge of pay and benefits administration, communication, performance management, training and coaching, succession planning, employee relations, team building, and organization development. The ability to develop and exercise leadership skills is another human resources career goal, but HR professionals often don’t find themselves leading or supervising large groups of people. Rather, much of the modern HR role in contemporary organizations consists of strategic planning and working with individual departments to plan and meet their needs. To perform these functions well, the HR professional must understand leadership well and be able to exercise and teach it.
The ability to specialize can be another of the human resources career goals. Many medium and small organizations employ specialists in pay and benefits administration; Larger organizations may employ a number of specialists in this area, focusing on payroll and administering the various benefit plans a company may offer. Recruiting is another common area of expertise within an HR department.
Some goals are not realistic career goals in human resources. For example, while HR professionals are generally well compensated and can achieve senior executive status in an organization, their sales and manufacturing counterparts often earn more and are more likely to be selected for key roles such as president, CEO, and COO. . Additionally, those who wish to travel extensively for their work should probably avoid human resources, as HR professionals generally don’t travel much unless they have supervisory responsibilities in the field offices.
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